Bailey Smith Swims to 500-Yard Freestyle Title on Day 2 of MIAA Championships

Senior Bailey Smith, pictured

Hope College swimmer Bailey Smith claimed his spot as the fastest 500-yard freestyler in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

The senior from Battle Creek, Michigan (Lakeview HS) topped a teammate and 2022 MIAA champion to accomplish the feat.

Smith posted a first-place time of 4 minutes, 34.73 seconds on Thursday at Calvin University, edging sophomore Connor Halberg, who won the event last year. Halberg (Novi, Michigan / Northville) took second with a time of 4:35.05.

The Flying Dutchmen clocked five of the top eight swims in the event. Sophomore Joey Grasman (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) finished fourth at 4:40.38. Freshman Bishop Carl (Cincinnati, Ohio / Sycamore) took fifth at 4:42.11. Sophomore Alex Boersema (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) was eighth at 4:47.55.

"Bailey delivered. He got us started with that victory in the first individual event," head coach Jake Taber said. "All those guys got it down in the morning. Putting all in the 'A' final was really important for us. They competed and battled tonight."'

The 500 freestyle results helped the Flying Dutchmen bolster their second-place position in the MIAA standings with 327 points. Calvin University leads with 423. Albion College is third with 209 points and followed by Kalamazoo College (194), Olivet College (113), and Alma College (107).

Day 3 of the four-day MIAA Championships on Friday, Feb. 17, will feature preliminaries at 10 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m.

Hope finished runner-up in three events: the 200 individual medley, the 400 medley relay and 3-meter diving.

In the 200 IM, sophomore Dallas Fisher (Highland, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) placed second with a time of 1:51.88, the Flying Dutchmen's fastest time of the season and the second-fastest in team history.

"Dallas is so talented and so versatile. We're learning more about him each and every opportunity he competes," Taber said. "He's been diligent about the work he's put in and one of the top swims in program history."

The Flying Dutchmen had five of the top 12 times in the 200 IM. Sophomore Colin Kalkman (Zeeland, Michigan / Holland Christian) recorded a fourth-place swim of 1:52.32. Junior Conor East (Farmington Hills, Michigan / North Farmington) clocked a fifth-place time of 1:52.60.

In the 'B' final, sophomore Christian Dunaitis (Commerce Township, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) and senior Jack Muller (Queensland, Australia / Meridian State) both scored. Dunaitis finished 10th at 1:55.36. Muller was 12th at 1:58.34.

In the 400 medley relay, Kalkman, Dunaitis, junior Ben Catton (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian), and Halbeg placed runner-up with a swim of 3:18.45.

Hope's 'B' relay of Fisher, senior Ted Lockett (Mason, Ohio / St. Xavier), sophomore Cooper Osgood (Saline, Michigan / Saline), and junior Conor East (Farmington Hills, Michigan / North Farmington) went 3:22.13 for 10th place.

In the 1-meter diving, junior Ewan Tiongson (Portage, Michigan / Portage Northern) recorded a second-place total of 467.25 points. The score earned Tiongson a spot in the upcoming NCAA Division III diving regional hosted by the University of Chicago.

"Ewan is in a good place right now," Tiongson said. "He put it together and punched a ticket to regionals."

Freshman Justin Romero (Detroit, Michigan / Woodhaven) finished seventh with 379.20 points. Junior Joey Gillengerten (East Lansing, Michigan / Haslett) was 11th with 304.25 points.

In the 200 freestyle relay, Hope clocked a third-place time as Fisher, Kalkman, sophomore Joel Cummins (Osceola, Indiana / Penn), and East went 1:23.19.

In the 50 freestyle, Cummins placed seventh at 20.97 seconds. Senior JT Nissen (Spring, Texas / Klein Collins) was 11th at 21.57.

Print Friendly Version